Introduction

This privacy policy describes how the Australian War Memorial (Memorial) protects and handles personal information consistent with its obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act), the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

Your privacy is important to the Memorial. In this policy we explain how and why we may collect your personal information, how it is used, when and how we might share it with others and how you can access and seek to correct your personal information.

In this policy, personal information has the meaning given to it in the Privacy Act, which is available on the Comlaw website: www.comlaw.gov.au. Personal information includes information about living identified or reasonably identifiable individuals.

Detailed information on privacy and the APPs is available on the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: www.oaic.gov.au.

Personal information the Memorial collects and holds

Why do we collect personal information?

The Memorial collects personal information to perform its functions under the Australian War Memorial Act 1980. The Memorial's purpose is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war. Its mission is to assist Australians to remember, interpret and understand the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on Australian society.

Do we permit individuals to deal with us anonymously?

When possible, you have the option of dealing with the Memorial anonymously or through the use of a pseudonym. For instance, you may express your opinion about the Memorial and its operations through our website in this way, if you wish.

How do we collect and hold personal information?

Generally the Memorial collects personal information directly from individuals who contact us in person, by telephone, by email or via the Memorial website. Sometimes we collect personal information from a third party or a publicly available source, but only if the individual has consented to such collection or would reasonably expect us to collect their personal information in this way, or if it is necessary for a specific purpose such as to conduct or arrange for research into matters pertaining to Australian military history. Sometimes the Memorial may receive personal information about third parties from individuals who contact us and supply us with the personal information of others in the documents, or within details, they provide to us.

We take steps to protect the personal information we hold against misuse, interference and loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These steps include password protection for accessing our electronic IT system, use of secure online payment technology by the Memorial Shop, securing paper files in locked cabinets and physical access restrictions. When no longer required, personal information is destroyed in a secure manner and consistent with the requirements of the Administrative Functions Disposal Authority issued by the National Archives of Australia and the Memorial's Records Disposal Authority.

We seek to ensure that the personal information we collect and hold is accurate, up to date and complete. This includes maintaining and updating personal information when we are advised by individuals that their personal information has changed, and at other times as necessary.

What kinds of personal information do we collect and hold?

Details of the kinds of records of personal information the Memorial collects and holds are available in the Memorial’s Personal Information Digest published under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) Information Publication Scheme and available on the Memorial’s website.

The kinds of personal information the Memorial collects and holds include:

historical material about individuals involved in war or warlike operations

information collected through a variety of website features and online forms, such as the Service Charter and subscriptions to the Australian War Memorial Newsletter (eMemorial), including names, contact details such as email and other addresses and telephone numbers, and in some cases opinions individuals express about the Memorial and its operations.

Information collected through the Visitor’s Book and correspondence to the Memorial including names, contact details such as email and other addresses and telephone numbers, and in some cases opinions individuals express about the Memorial and its operations.

information collected from individuals visiting the Memorial Shop or using our Online Shop service, including names, contact details such as email and other addresses, telephone numbers and credit card information

information collected about individuals with whom the Memorial enters into a business relationship

information about Memorial personnel and volunteers, and

information about Memorial Friends, donors and sponsors.

From time to time, the Memorial also takes snapshots of Memorial sites maintained on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. This means we may collect personal information individuals post on Memorial sites, including opinions expressed by those individuals.

We may collect sensitive personal information as defined in the Privacy Act when it is necessary for or directly related to the performance by the Memorial of its functions or activities, with the consent of and directly from the individual concerned. The Privacy Act (APP 3.4) also provides for the collection of sensitive information in certain other exceptional circumstances.

Use and disclosure of personal information by the Memorial

Generally we only use personal information for the purposes for which it was given to us, or for purposes which are directly related to one of our functions or activities, and we do not give it to other government agencies, organisations or anyone else for a purpose other than that for which it was given to us.

Sometimes we may use or disclose the personal information we hold in other circumstances permitted under the Privacy Act and the APPs, including where:

the individual has consented

the individual would reasonably expect the information to be used or disclosed for a purpose other than that for which it was collected and that other purpose is related to the purpose for which the information was collected, or in the case of sensitive information, directly related

it is otherwise required or authorised by an Australian law or a court/tribunal order

it is impractical to obtain consent and it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to somebody's life or health or to public health or safety

it is reasonably necessary for an enforcement related activity conducted by or on behalf of an enforcement body.

Do we send personal information overseas?

We will not send personal information outside Australia without the consent of the individual concerned or unless we are legally obliged to do so or the transfer complies with APP 8 (cross-border disclosure of personal information).

Information collected online by the Memorial

It is our usual practice to collect information about all visitors to our online resources. That information is very limited and only used to identify generic behavioural patterns. Sometimes we use third party platforms to deliver information. These are sites hosted and managed by organisations other than ourselves. Before deciding if you want to contribute to any third party site you should read their privacy policy.

There are several methods and packages that we use to collect visitor behaviours on each of our online platforms. We use Google Analytics on our websites. Information and data collected through Google Analytics is stored by Google on servers in the United States of America, Belgium and Finland. You can opt out of the collection of information via Google Analytics by downloading the Google Analytics Opt-out browser add on.

When you visit any of our online resources, our metric tools may collect the following information about your visit for statistical purposes:

server address

top level domain name (for example .com, .gov, .au, .uk etc.)

the date and time of your visit to the site

the pages you accessed and documents downloaded during your visit

the previous site you visited

if you've visited our site before

the type of browser used.

We record this data to maintain our server and improve our services. We do not use this information to personally identify anyone.

Cookies

'Cookies' are small amounts of information that are created and stored on the user's system, and used by the Web host server for a variety of possible purposes.

The Memorial's Collection Databases use 'cookies' in order to retain search parameters and results during an enquiry session. You will need to set your browser to accept 'cookies' in order to undertake searches and display results within the Memorial's Databases. If your browser supports such an option, you may also use the setting to 'warn before accepting cookies' or 'prompt'. Our Databases will function normally in either 'accept' or 'prompt' modes. The core functionality of the Memorial’s website platforms will be largely unaffected if you disable cookies in your browser, but you may be unable to access some advanced functions.

Information passed between the client and server via these cookies is not retained by the host software in any fashion once the search session is terminated. The only information gathered from the client is that amount necessary to identify that particular session and keep it distinct from the other search sessions that may be happening at any one time. Cookie information is not forwarded to any other body or organisation.

Personal information collected online through the Memorial Shop

The Memorial wants to ensure that you can purchase online with complete confidence. The Memorial's online purchasing technology uses the National Australia Bank's Secure Internet Payment Service. This employs SSL technology with 128 bit encryption and ensures that your card details are only accessible by NAB, not by the Memorial, and are stored behind their security firewall. For more information go to NAB Credit Card Security.

Any personal information you provide when ordering from the Memorial Shop will be used to process your request or order. To enhance your online ordering and shopping experience, and to provide a more personalised service to you, we will ask you if we can use your personal information to contact you about upcoming products and items of interest. You will have the ability to choose whether or not you would like to receive this information from the Memorial. You can unsubscribe from this service at any time.

From time to time, we may use parts of the data you and other users provide us with to better understand how our services are used and to provide information for future improvements. The data used to do these reviews does not include any direct personal information that identifies you as our customer.

Generally we will not use your personal details for any other purpose, and will not disclose it to anyone else for a purpose other than that for which you have given it to us. Sometimes we may use or disclose this information in other circumstances permitted under the Privacy Act and the APPs.

Accessing and correcting personal information the Memorial holds

You may request access to your personal information. To request access to your personal information you should contact the Executive Officer, Corporate Services by e-mail at executive@awm.gov.au who will manage the request.

The Memorial may require you to verify your identity and be specific about the information you seek. We will provide you with access, subject to any applicable exceptions under the Privacy Act, such as where the Memorial is entitled to refuse access under the FOI Act. You will not be charged for lodging a request to access your personal information.

If you request access to the personal information we hold about you, or request that we change that personal information, you should expect us to respond your request within 30 days of the request being made.

We will allow access or make the changes unless we consider that there is a sound reason under the Privacy Act, FOI Act or any other relevant law to withhold the information, or not make the changes. If we do not agree to provide access to personal information or to amend or annotate the information we hold about you, we will provide you with written reasons for refusing and information about how you may complain about our refusal.

Complaints about the Memorial’s privacy practices

If you have a concern about the way in which the Memorial handles your personal information and wish to make a complaint, contact the Executive Officer, Corporate Services by email at: executive@awm.gov.au. The Memorial will consider your complaint and provide you with a response.

Under the Privacy Act, the Privacy Commissioner has the power to investigate complaints or acts or practices that may be a breach of privacy even if there is no complaint. If you have made a complaint to us about the Memorial’s privacy practices and you do not believe that the matter has been resolved satisfactorily, you should either write to the Privacy Commissioner setting out the details of the practices which you think interfere with your privacy (if you wish, you can use a form available on the Commissioner’s website), or telephone 1300 363 992 (local call charge). The Privacy Commissioner will generally expect you to complain to the Memorial first, and will likely refer your complaint to the Memorial if you have not done so.

How to contact us

Individuals can obtain further information in relation to this privacy policy, or provide any comments, by contacting us: